Demand for air cargo continued to rise in November with freight tonne kilometres up 6.1 per cent on a year earlier, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association.
European airlines reported a rise of eight per cent in November compared to a year earlier. A steady improvement over the past few months has come as Europe pulled away from economic contraction in 2013.
All regions reported growth except for Latin America and Africa.
Strong demand coupled with a slower expansion in capacity helped to improve the average load factor to 49.2 per cent- 0.7 percentage points above the previous November.
Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO, said: “The November results are encouraging – particularly for carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. This good news is largely being driven by improving economic prospects in China along with an overall boost on Asian trade routes. The uptick is a welcome development in a weak performing market. Overall volumes, when adjusted for seasonality, are still below the peaks reached in 2010 and 2011.”
